A KIDDERMINSTER police constable who was engulfed by flames after being hit by a flare at Villa Park has backed a campaign for stronger punishments for attacks against officers.
PC Andy Forbes, a West Mercia Police Federation Rep, was injured during the violence during Aston Villa’s European game against Legia Warsaw in November 2023, dubbed the worst UK football disorder in decades.
He has now backed the Police Federation of England and Wales’s national ‘Copped Enough’ campaign, calling for stronger punishments for attacks on police.
Andy was initially struck by a traffic sign as he cleared debris from where officers were positioned before being engulfed in flames after being hit by a flare.
An experienced officer with 20 years of public order policing, Andy said the disorder was ‘like nothing I’d seen before’.
He added: “The violence that our colleagues in West Mercia and other forces experienced that night was shocking and totally unacceptable.
“It’s been described as the most serious violence seen at a football match in decades.
“I’d certainly never experienced anything like it, and it was incredibly lucky that none of the officers were seriously injured that night.
“We are husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and we shouldn’t have to face violence just for the uniform we wear.
“Which is why we need the courts to support us and hand down the toughest sentences, particularly given the nature of the sustained violence we faced that night.”
The 2022 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act saw the maximum sentence for assaults on a blue light worker, including police officers.
But the Police Federation of England and Wales has now called for more protection for the frontline with stronger sentences for assaults on officers.
The Copped Enough campaign highlights the growing number of attacks on officers, with 32 violently assaulted every day.
Andy said: “The number of officers being assaulted every day, as highlighted by the campaign, is criminal.
“My frontline colleagues need the courts to support us and give people who attack officers the toughest possible sentences.”
